all the same song

Redux Review 0005: Bell’s Hopslam (Celebrating #IPADay)

Six months ago, I reviewed Bell’s Hopslam, the Kalamazoo, Michigan palate destroying limited release Imperial IPA. It proved to be a perfect beer, scoring 100 points on my rating scale, and it quickly became a beer I wanted to buy by the case.

One small problem with that: this stuff is so limited, most stores will only sell you one six-pack. Some stores only allow you to purchase one twelve-ounce bottle. The demand for this beer is insane, and rightfully so; while the ingredients are a secret, Bell’s puts the best quality in this brew, and take extra steps to make sure IPA lovers get this one as fresh as possible.

My first review of Hopslam looked like this:

Appearance: 15 of 15 points
Aroma: 15 of 15 points
Flavor and Palate: 35 of 35 points
Drinkability/Overall Experience: 35 of 35 points

Final Score: 100 points, or classic on my rating scale.

And here we are today, on #IPADay, drinking a Hopslam. That whole freshness bit? What gives?

I stashed one of these beers away in the dark depths of my refrigerator six months ago just for this day — just to see how Hopslam ages. The fact that six months of age falls on #IPADay is just a happy coincidence, and all the more reason for me to bust the cap on my last bottle of Hopslam for 2012!

Before the redux review, a note about #IPADay — I’ve noticed some detractors regarding the day, and they make some valid points. They say we should have a Craft Beer Day instead; that #IPADay isn’t welcoming to new craft beer drinkers because the style can be challenging to just jump into headfirst. While I see the logic behind that… IT’S JUST A DAY. I like that we have #IPADay, and I think we need more days like it. Speaking as someone who doesn’t really care for “normal” holidays… these types of celebrations call for the unleashing of beers like Hopslam, or beers you’ve been sitting on for a while just looking for an occasion to open them.

So let’s open this one. Happy #IPADay!

Pouring produced classic Hopslam: an average size head, lasting and creamy. The beer was vibrant golden with carbonation bubbles zooming to the top, and the body was cloudy with a light amount of fine sediment. The lacing was of high quality, thick and creamy, and was almost reminiscent of whipped cream.

But here’s where things started to go off, in a faded sort of way: the aroma was definitely not what it once was. Yes, the hops are still up front, but the once dominant note of tropical fruit has now given way to a strong grassy smell that is matched with some orange peel. There’s hints of the tropical fruit; pineapple and mango were present, but not in a big way. There is a touch of grapefruit, and the malts are more sniffable, presenting sweet caramel and bread.

On the taste, there’s grassy hops followed by a slight note of pineapple and orange. There was a big malt hit in the middle of the sip, sweet caramel and an almost roasted flavor that leads to a bittersweet finish which starts off very sweet, and transitions to quite a bitter bite, but it never turns medicinal or overwhelming. At 10% ABV (alcohol by volume), this one hits you with the booze in the nose, and by the end of the drink, you’re feeling it in your throat and stomach.

In short, this bottle of Hopslam, put in the vessel on 2/2/12, is not as good of a beer on 8/2/12, after six months spent in the refrigerator. The hops, while not disappearing completely, have faded in such a way that if you’ve had this beer fresh, you might not like the results. That being said, this is still a good beer, and some people might actually like the age on a big ABV Imperial IPA — but I happen to enjoy this one much more fresh.

This was an interesting #IPADay experiment, and it leads me to this proclamation: ATTENTION BELL’S BREWERY: Make Hopslam year-round, so we can enjoy it fresh all the time!

Shelf life on Hopslam? I’m thinking you need to enjoy it within at least three months of the date on the bottle.

In redux:

Appearance: 15 of 15 points
Aroma: 12 of 15 points
Flavor and Palate: 30 of 35 points
Drinkability/Overall Experience: 30 of 35 points

Bell’s Hopslam, redux score of 87 points. Price: $19.99 US for a six pack.

Beer Review 0100: Bell’s Hopslam

For my hundredth beer review, I’ve selected a beer that likely needs no introduction: Bell’s Hopslam, brewed in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

This beer is released every January, and is often hard to find. But it’s not hard to find because they don’t make enough of it; you often can’t get it because people hoard this stuff. Beer drinkers buy cases of this at a time, which should tell you that Hopslam is obviously a high quality beer.

Last year, while looking for this beer, I was shut out, but I got my hands on some this year. Hopslam is a Double India Pale Ale, and is brewed with a dollop of honey. Bell’s keeps the exact hops used in this beer a secret, but they do say that of their lineup, Hopslam has the most complex hopping schedule. This beer is dry hopped, like their Two Hearted Ale, a single IPA that I rated 89 points.

Now, a quick word about this review. I obtained this beer on Thursday, January 19, 2012. I’m doing this review on Saturday, the 21st. On this date, I’m only on review #0089, but I’ve decided to go forward with this review because Hopslam is to be enjoyed fresh. And the bottles I have were produced on January 9, so that means the beer I’m reviewing is only twelve days old — incredibly fresh!

That brings up another point: people hoarding this beer. I look at it like this: I bought two six packs of this beer, which is plenty for me. If I bought a case, it would take me forever to drink it, and by the time I got around to all of it, its freshness would be gone. So I don’t really understand people hoarding it, and I think it is kind of irritating. Spread the beer love!

Let’s get to it! Review 100.

The pour produced an elixir with an average size head, but more than I expected from a 10% AVB (alcohol by volume) beer. The head lasted atop a golden orange beer, clouded in body by a light sediment present throughout. The lacing was excellent, and the head regeneration on Hopslam was amazing, easily coming back to pour levels with a few swirls in the glass.

The aromatics were exactly what you would expect from a beer named Hopslam — totally dominated by hops. Now, I know I speak of “balance” sometimes in my reviews; but really, all bets are off with a beer that has a guy on his caboose overwhelmed by hop plants on the label. It’s all here, in technicolor glory: amazing citrus, grapefruit, orange, lemon. This beer is truly like tropical fruit juice in a glass, with pine and resin notes playing a background role with an almost menthol-like intensity. There’s some faint hints of grass in there, too.

Hopslam greets the palate with an initial citrus hit, some grapefruit and orange, but it’s sweet and the honey in the brew makes its first appearance. After turning tropical, the middle of the taste turns crushingly bitter and ushers in a malt balance, which goes into a sweet finish of some strong pine, concluding with a full body alcohol warmth.

Most of the time, I find that the masses are wrong about stuff. The things most people like, I dislike. Strongly dislike, on a regular basis. But they’re absolutely correct on Hopslam — this is a damn good beer, and if you haven’t tried it, you must remedy that situation if you can. This beer is truly a hop head’s dream, hop-forward but still with some modicum of balance, and SO FRESH.

I loved this beer, and I’m glad I picked it for my hundredth review. Hopslam becomes the third beer that I rate a perfect 100 points on my rating scale.

Cheers to 100 more beer reviews! Thanks for reading and celebrating with me.

Bell’s Hopslam, 100 points. Price: $19.99 US for a six pack.